1. Technical Field
The present application relates to an image processing technology for generating a moving picture and more particularly relates to an image processing technology for generating a new moving picture representing an object based on moving pictures which are made up of pixels that have been obtained by shooting the same object (or subject) under multiple different shooting conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
A three-chip image capturing method is one of various image capturing methods for use to capture a color image. According to the three-chip image capturing method, the incoming light is separated through an optical system into RGB light rays, which are then received at respectively different image sensors. Since all of the incoming light is received at those image sensors according to the three-chip image capturing method, the incoming light can be used highly efficiently and a high color resolution can be achieved as well. On the other hand, a single-chip color image capturing scheme that does not use such a color separating optical system is used extensively in small and cheap cameras. Since transmissive RGB color filters are arranged spatially alternately (e.g., in the Bayer arrangement pattern) according to the single-chip image capturing scheme, the color resolution decreases. In addition, since light ray other than the ones in the transmitted colors are either absorbed or reflected, the incoming light cannot be used so efficiently and the sensitivity becomes low, which is a problem with the single-chip method.
To overcome such a problem by increasing the color resolution and sensitivity (i.e., the SNR) of the single-chip color image capturing scheme, a known image capture device calculates a virtual signal value based on the values of adjacent pixels (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-55589, for example). According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-55589, by using the pixel value of a G pixel as a reference pixel and those of surrounding R and B pixels at the pixel location of the G pixel itself, virtual R and B signals are calculated. In this manner, the number of R and B pixels can be increased in each pixel block consisting of multiple vertical and horizontal pixels surrounding the reference pixel, and the color resolutions and SNR of the R and B signals can be increased.